ArthurWeapon Locating System

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Arthur is a highly mobile weapon locating system, tactically deployed close to the forward line of own troops. Within the battlefield sectors or areas of interest it will rapidly detect and track artillery projectiles and calculate points of origin and points of impact.

Based on these calculations priorities are made and directions are provided for effective counter-battery fire. In fire control mode, Arthur will track the projectiles of own fire and extrapolate the points of impact. In Sense & Warn mode, extrapolation of points of impact of incoming fire will trigger timely warning to own troops.

KEY OPERATIONAL ADVANTAGES

Enables accurate counter-battery ﬁre within seconds

Covers a distance of 60 km and can report >100 targets/min

Provides adjustment of own fire

Provides warning of incoming ﬁre

Offers battle-proven high reliability and maintainability

Last updated: 08 April 2015 • 15:42

EFFECTIVE ENGAGEMENT

In eliminating or greatly reducing the availability and fire support effect of an adversary’s artillery, he is forced from a state of acting into one of reacting. As that happens, the battlefield initiative will shift in your favour.

ACCURATE COUNTER-BATTERY FIRE

MORE THAN 100 TARGETS/MIN WITHIN 60 KM

ADJUSTMENT OF OWN FIRE

WARNING OF INCOMING FIRE

HIGH RELIABILITY AND MAINTAINABILITY

ONE HIGH-MOBILITY VEHICLE – TWO OPERATORS DEPLOY IN TWO MINUTES

SUPERIOR SYSTEM SURVIVABILITY

ILS – INTEGRATED LOGISTICS SUPPORT

The Arthur radar continuously searches the horizon and immediately tracks projectiles early in the trajectory. Gun, mortar or rocket projectiles are automatically classiﬁed and correctly associated to batteries. Within seconds less than 4s Arthur will send a call for ﬁre message to your own artillery command and control system, effectively coordinating precise counter-battery ﬁre.

Arthur has an instrumented range of 20, 30, 40 or 60 km. It operates over a nominal sector of up to an 120°. The sustained maximum capacity for detection, tracking, classiﬁ cation and impact calculation is well over 100 targets per minute.

The Arthur ﬁre control mode is used to register the points of impact of own artillery ﬁre. The mode is selected manually or automatically by an incoming data message from the command and control system. Arthur tracks and calculates mean positions of own points of impact and automatically sends a message back containing precise correction data for ﬁre adjustment.

Arthur extrapolates – in real time – the trajectory of all incoming projectiles to determine the point of impact. Should the calculated impact reside within deﬁned Critical Friendly Zones (CFZ), Arthur will trigger timely warning. Thereby both force and asset protection is assured.

Launched in 1999, Arthur is operational in twelve countries, among them Norway, Sweden, the Czech Republic, South Korea, Spain, Italy, Greece and the UK. The system has been proven in wartime service with the British forces in the second Gulf War in 2003 and served with British and other forces in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, where it was used in 24/7 combat operations. Its recorded inherent availability is more than 99.9%.

Arthur is designed with unique transportability and ease of operation in mind. The entire system is installed in an ISO-cornered shelter weighing only 4500 kg. This means it can be carried by any single cross-country truck or tracked vehicle with a 5-tonne payload capacity. It also implies high speed for on-road transport as well as high offroad mobility.

The system can be airlifted by a single C-130 using standard equipment for container handling. With larger aircraft, such as the IL-76, C-17 or A400M, all versions can be transported as drive-on/drive-off cargo.

Designed for a high degree of automation, two operators/soldiers can perform both deployment and teardown of Arthur in less than two minutes.

Arthur will itself be a high-priority target. Survival limits the useful operating time at any single deployment site to 10-30 minutes, depending on the threat level. Deploying in only two minutes maximises the useful operating time at a given physical location without jeopardising system survival. The antenna aperture consists of 48 slotted ridge waveguides, effectively implementing a built-in functional redundancy. Should the antenna be partially hit by small-arms ﬁre or shrapnel, remaining waveguides will stay functional and offer true graceful functional degradation.

The system has low infrared (IR) and electronic warfare (EW) signatures, which makes it harder to detect and hit with thermal or radar-seeking weapons.

ILS is an important part of the system delivery and will form the basis for future maintenance. Saab ILS experts have solid experience in tailoring ILS deliveries together with customers worldwide.

A WORLD CLASS LINE-UP

All Saab radars combine battle-proven designs from the renowned Erieye (AEW), Arthur and Giraffe AMB product families. Saab offers a full range of high-performing radar systems for a multitude of applications and mission types.

Giraffe 1X

Arthur

Giraffe AMB

Giraffe 4A

Giraffe 8A

Radar upgrades

Air surveillance

x

x

x

x

Ground based air defence

x

x

x

x

x

Weapon locating

x

x

Sense and warn

x

x

x

x

Multi role

x

x

x

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

OPERATIONAL MODES

Weapon Location

Fire control

Sense and Warn

TECHNICAL DATA

Radar type

Azimuth and Elevation Electrically Scanned

Antenna type

Passive phased array

Frequency

C (G/H)-band

Search sector

120 degrees

Instrumented range

60 km

LOOK INTO THE FUTURE

Saab has been active in defence and security for more than 75 years. Solutions for air, sea and land operations, civil security and commercial aeronautics make us a complete business partner. Working with Saab means you will benefit from the ultimate synthesis of experience, efficiency and excellence in engineering.

In radar technology we are at the very forefront and offer outstanding capabilities to demanding customers all over the world. In a way you could say that our mission in this field is to help your forces to virtually look into the future. To see before you are seen and to maintain superior situational awareness.

A line of ground-breaking innovations form a track record that proves our ability to sharpen the thinking edge. Making it sharp enough to cut through the barrier of the impossible, strengthening your ability to protect your troops and keep people safe.

Saab’s local South African defence and security company Saab Grintek Defence (SGD) was once again awarded the Exporter Award at 4th annual SA Premier Business Awards held in Johannesburg, on 6 December 2016.